Freeing Ariel
by Raevyn Lolliette
Summary: Ariel is now bound back to the Theatre Illuminata after Bertie finds her soul mate Nate. Now alone and pissed at the world, he finds no comfort in living. But maybe a little white haired girl will be enough to set him free...OC M just in case...
1. Act 1

Freeing Ariel

Act 1

Welcome to the Theatre Illuminata where the characters of every play that has ever been written can be found behind the curtain. The plays are real and magic brings them to life. Upon being freed momentarily to assist Beatrice Shakespeare Smith in saving her scruffy pirate comanion, Nate, and falling in love with her along the way, Ariel is outraged when she turns her affections on Nate and ties Ariel back to the place that he loathes with a passion. His ultimate prison; the Theatre Illuminata.

Scene 1:

Ariel's POV

Enter: Ariel

"Such a beautiful evening..." I murmered sarcastically as I entered the main stage room of the Theatre Illuminata. Today it was ebbed with a particularly exceeding amount of annoyance as the Players from The Little Mermaid rehearsed their scenes. I didn't see why. They were written to be that character, there was no need to rehearse personality. I sighed and slid into one of the auditorium's own fluffy seats unseen due to my innate ability to move about silently. It's not that I tried to. It just happened. I suppose that would be a fitting ability of one that is a wind spirit, like myself. A tempest, these old players call me.

Upon sitting down, I watched the scrambled scenes of the play, as I had nothing else to do, being bound to this wreched hell and all. It got to the scene when the prince falls off of the ship and a scruffy pirate yells "Man overboard!" and it was all I could do to keep my winds reigned in from blasting his sorry behind into the real seawater that the stage held. Biting my lip and turning my head to the side, I managed to ease the bit of rage that tried to thwart my self control. I _hated_ that ingreat with every fiber of my being. He stole away the only woman I ever loved, and then convinced her to re-trap me here in this magical hell hole. I gritted my teeth in unadulterated rage at the memory. I supposed that I could have any girl I wanted, but I didn't want just anyone. I wanted _her_. When I thought of her, with her beautiful pleading jade eyes and her pouty lips my rage eased slightly.

Ah, that woman. She was so beautiful, so charasmatic, so..._herself_...There were no other words to describe Beatrice Shakespeare Smith. She acted according to her own will, and I loved her for it. In a world full of pretense and darkness. She was my truth and my light. My one and only. Even as a child, I had loved her. And her betrayal to me would stick in my heart for centuries. But I wouldn't let her know how badly I hurt everyday; how everytime I saw her with that damned pirate my soul crumbled a bit more each time.

As if sensing my anguish, my familiars, my two butterfly companions, perched upon me; one on my nose and the other upon my lap. The red one rubbed it's head affectionately against the bridge of my nose and I sighed sofltly, careful not to throw it clean off of my face onto the floor.

"_Do not dwell in your sadness, Ariel_," they seemed to tell me,_ "For we will always be here to comfort you."_

I smiled softly at them before rubbing my finger gently across the red one's wings. "Do not fret, little ones," I told them, "Time heals all wounds. Including those of the heart." Though I didn't really believe my words, it seemed to calm them a bit as I had hoped.

I looked back to the set to see a black-haired girl with purple tips running to jump upon the pirate that I loathed so much.

"Nate!" she called out to him from the circle of his arms. delighted just to be with him, as she used to me.

"What 'tis it tha' ye might be doin' here, lass?" he asked her, his face full of perpetual stubble smiling lovingly down at her.

"I came to see, you, of course!" she grinned at him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Is tha' so?" he smiled back preparing to press a proper kiss to her lips.

I turned away before I could witness the inhuman acts he would perform on those rosy red lips of hers. Standing up, I made my way down the aisle in the opposite direction from them, hoping to dissapear. Before I got too far, I heard my name being yelled from the direction of the stage. Normally I would have turned to look but this was not a normal time. I kept walking, pretending not to hear her. "Ariel!" She called again and I cringed, as I was sure now that she had spotted me. Like the time before, I didn't turn around. I couldn't bear to. I just subtly quickened my pace and was around the corner to the Green Room before she caught up.

Feeling ravished from the lack of food the past month, I decided to grab a cinnamon bun off of the table and I pinched it off piece by piece until I had devoured it. Then I took another. And another. I was on my fifth by the time I felt the presence of a small girl behind me. My sigh echoed through out the entire Green Room. Knowing I was cornered and could not escape this time, I turned around to face the woman who shattered my very soul into millions of pieces. Her green eyes were saddened as she looked up at me, silent for once.

"Is there something I can help you with, Madamoiselle?" I asked, my tone calm and collected unlike my emotions, and my eyebrow raised.

"Are you avoiding me, Ariel...?" she asked, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh heaven's, no!" I exclaimed, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "I want to see the enchanting maiden who chose another man over me and retracted my freedom cruelly after she had given it to me." Her head dipped, but not before I saw the scarlet sheet that flowed beautifully across her smooth-skinned countenance.

"...Now...Ariel...we've already discussed this..." she told me, lifting her head once more to meet my gaze.

"Yes, yes. I know." I told her, as I reached behind me to get a cup of coffee, "Nate seemed the better choice. I understand that particular part of what you did, but it does not mean that I have to enjoy your decision or spend any time around you. You've done quite enough damage as it is, and I am not a masochist by any means." As I looked down upon her, I didn't mask the hurt and anger in my eyes as I suppose I should have, so that she could see a small bit of the harm that she had done. She seemed slightly taken aback as she stared into my obsidian orbs as I glared back into her deep jade ones. Suddenly an angry look contorted her face and she glared back at me.

"Stop acting like a child, Ariel!" she commanded of me, "Just because I didn't pick you to be to be my lover does NOT mean that I don't want to be around you." She placed her hands on her dainty little hips, and if I were a lesser person I would have snorted in laughter.

"It is not only about what you want, Bertie." I told her, stiffening my shoulders in resolve, "So in that sense, it is you who are acting childish. You haven't changed a bit attitude-wise since you were younger" I could feel the steel backing in my tone and from the look on her face; so could she. She pressed her lips together in a cute way like she does when she's trying to control her anger.

"I most certainly am not acting like a child! I'm just trying to be friends again. You know? Bridge the gap. We were childhood friends, before you abandoned me? Remember?" She growled these lines at me and I felt the anger building in me, stronger and stronger by the second. My winds scattered in all around me in different directions, upset by my temper. But I made sure to contain them and to show no anger upon my countenance.

"Did it ever occur to you, little girl, that I do not want to partake of a friendship with you? That maybe I would rather you not be near, making my life miserable and rubbing that damn scruffy pirate that I _helped _you save in my face." I was careful to keep my look placid, wheras my winds attempted to make a tornado in the Green Room. Bertie looked pained and the edges of her eyes glistened in tears.

"Ariel..." she said, her voice soft; almost in a whisper, "I-it wasn't an easy decision. If I could be both of your lovers without hurting the other, I swear I-" Unable to keep my cool any longer, I slammed my hand against the wall beside her head, making her yelp and cutting her off. There were so many things I wanted to say to her, so many emotions that I wanted to express to her, but when I saw the tears that trailed down her soft cheeks I knew that I couldn't. I sighed and ducked my head as I felt the tears well up in my own eyes.

"...Just...go..." I whispered so that she wouldn't hear the heartbreak that I felt in every inch of my body.

"W-what?" she asked, her voice breaking as she did so. I looked up at her.

"Just...GO!" I growled as I felt the tears overflow from my eyes and onto my silk shirt. With a torn look she fled from the Green Room and left me alone to wallow in my broken heart.

Scene 2:

Bertie's POV

Enter: Bertie, Nate, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed

After seeing the ever cynical wind spirit almost on his knees in anguish, I couldn't take it anymore. I simply couldn't believe that _I_ caused him all of the pain I saw in his eyes. Not being able to stand by and watch Ariel in pain, I ran to Nate and the fairies.

"Wha' 'tis it tha' took ye so long, lass?" my beautiful pirate boyfriend looked down at me, his face scrunched in concern. He hated Ariel, and me being alone with the seductive wind spirit unsettled him greatly. I didn't answer at first, I just ran to jump into Nate's arms, ignoring the disgusted sounds of the fairies. He held me tightly as I sobbed into his shirt and didn't say a word while Peaseblossom and the boys tried to comfort me. When I finally managed to stop, I told Nate what had happened and he nodded then entire time; ever the good listener.

"All he be needin' is time, lass. It ain't as if ye can get ov'r heartache quickly as tha'." he told me after I had finished.

"Yeah!" Peaseblossom nodded enthusiasticly, "After all you did break his heart pretty bad, Bertie." I winced at her words and looked down. Moth and Cobweb laughed and flew in direct line of mine and Nate's gaze.

"Oh, Ariel! I can't be with you anymore! Because I love Nate!" Cobweb yelled dramaticly in his best girl voice throwing his hand over his eyes as he did.

"But Bertie, I love you! My darling!" Moth tried to look anguished and ended up looking constipated.

"Oh Bertie, I be glad yer choosin' me!" Mustardseed did his best Nate impression and held his arms out.

"Oh, Nate!" Cobweb yelled before he tackled Mustardseed, sending them both spiraling in the air. Nate and I growled, but before we could swat them out of the sky a large burst of air knocked the three fairies into a hard concrete wall quite roughly. I laughed, but it sounded more like a hiccup than anything else.

"Ungh..." Moth groaned, peeling himself off of the wall.

"That meanie, Ariel. We were just joking around." Mustardseed rubbed his head as he flew in a wobbly fashion back to where Nate and I was.

"Yeah..." Cobweb muttered.

"Serves you three, right." Peaseblossom huffed, "You're all insensitive..." I sighed at all of them, before turning my head towards where the blast had come from. The Green Room.

"Aw, don't fret, missy. 'Tis just 'cause yer so cute," Nate told me, turning my head to face him and running his calloused finger around my jawline with a small smile, as if he was trying to cheer me up.

"Let's go watch Ariel cry!" Mustardseed yelled as he punched a fist into the air.

"Yeah!" the fairies echoed together as they all prepared to fly off. I caught them by thier wings. They yelled in protest when I jerked them all into my lap.

"Unless you want to be smacked against the concrete again, you might to better to leave him alone. You four fly, and his element is air. If you make him too mad, he may make sure you never fly again." I told them pointedly and laughed at the horrified expressions on their little faces as they pondered this before I sighed as my dilemma came back before my eyes.

"I have to do something to make Ariel feel better..." I told them as I rubbed my hands against my jeans, "Now just to figure out what..."

"Aye..." Nate seemed to ponder this as well and the fairies pulled out caps from thier pocket's that had their names and the words 'THINKING CAP' on them.

For a couple of hours we sat there and rambled off idea after idea, each more stupid than the last until finally we couldn't do it anymore.

"C'mon guys!" I tried to pep talk them, "There has to be something!" Nate shook his head, as he got angrier by the second.

"There be nothin, lass..." he said, "An' I'm tired of frettin' ov'r tha' damn tempest."

"There has to be something, Nate..." I pleaded with him, and he sighed.

"Th' only thin' I can think o' is fer him to be gettin' a new wench." he told me with a shake of his head, "An' to be givin' back the freedom that ye took from him when we return'd here."

"But we can't do that, can we?" I thought over this and Nate shrugged.

"Can't say tha' I know. But ye are the master o' words." he told me and suddenly I had an idea. It was brilliant! And it was so crazy it just might work...

"Nate...I need The Book and a pen..." I told him and he looked confused.

"What fer, lass?" he asked me, scrunching his face up cutely as he tried to figure out what I was thinking.

"You said he needed a girlfriend." I nodded as I stood to get the things that I said I needed while he tensed.

"Ye won't do nuthin' stupid, will ye lass?" he tilted his head and I pressed a soft kiss to his lips which seemed to help his mood a bit.

"Not unless you think writing up a character for a play that I'm supposedly writing and getting him to fall in love with that character is stupid." I smiled devilishly at him and he relaxed.

"Not in th' least bit." he nodded his agreement as he stood and along with the fairies who had decided to be luchadores, or spanish wrestlers, at that specific time headed off to the Theater Manager's office.

**Author's Note:**

** Hello all^^ I hope you enjoyed Act 1 of Freeing Ariel as much as I enjoyed writing it. Just so you know, I didn't read the second book to this series, Perchance to Dream, before I began to write this because I can't find it to save my life. So if all of this stuff totally ends up being wrong, I'm sorry! *bow* Please forgive me! Lolz^^ But as you can all tell Ariel is my favorite character so Bertie can have Nate. Not that Nate's not a nice guy, he's just not the type of guy that I'd pick over a prettyfull wind spirit like Ariel. That and I hate typing him talk, so you probably won't see a whole boatload of Nate in here. Sorry Nate fans v.v Anyways, I'm going to introduce the OC in the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it. Please R n R! That's Read and Review NOT Rest and Relax. XD! Until Next time**

**-Crimson**


	2. Act 2

Act 2

Scene 1:

Bertie's POV

Enter: Bertie, Nate, Peaseblossom, Mustardseed, Cobweb, and Moth

_'Mmmmmhhh...the bed is hard...' _I grumbled as I buried my face into my suprisingly soft pillow, which groaned in protest. _'Wait...' _I thought, _'Why did my pillow just groan?' _My eyes popped open in alarm and with a start I realized that we were in the auditorium still, and I had fallen asleep on Nate, a.k.a. my groaning pillow. I sat up and stretched, careful not to wake him or the sleeping fairies. We had spent hours designing the perfect girl for Ariel and had fallen asleep on each other in the end. I opened The Book that had remained in my lap since last night and pulled out the normal loose-leaf sheet of paper that we decided to write our ideas on before deciding read what all we wrote. When I saw it I couldnt' help but smile. Since we all took turns writing things, it was all in different handwritings from my semi-neat handwriting to Nate's chicken scratch penmanship. Then of course Peaseblossom and the others wanted to write so their handwriting was on there too.

(Bertie)

Name:

Alice

Age:

Looks about Seventeen

Description:

Short white hair

Long in the front, short in the back

Goth

Wears dark eyeliner

Likes bright eyeshadow and bright colors

Purple eyes

Long Eyelashes

(Nate)

Thick but not too thick lips

about 5'4"

Loves black roses

Loves Bertie

(Peaseblossom)

AND PEASEBLOSSOM

(Cobweb)

AnD CoBwEB

(Moth)

and moth

(Mustardseed)

And MUSTARDSEED

Loves Ice Cream

Is cynical

Is independant

Favorite colors are purple and black

Loves White-haired guys with long hair

Loves black silk

AND BUTTERFLIES

And standing in the wind

AnD dancING

Loves Romance

And dark eye colors

It was all perfect. Now all she had to do was write it in The Book and the girl would appear and be a character of the Theatre, unable to leave just like Ariel. If he fell in love with her then maybe he would take comfort in her being here and have no trouble staying here with this beauty she had in mind on his arm. It should be no problem getting her to love Ariel, seeing as I set her up to fall for White-haired men with long hair, with dark eyes, cynicism, butterflies, and wind. The only problem that we might encounter is getting Ariel to requite her love. I really hoped it all went according to plan.

I pulled out my pen and opened up The Book to an slightly glowing empty page before doing the most logical thing. Coming up with a name for the play. I sat there for what seemed like thirty minutes to an hour naming off random names before I got irritated and just decided to skip it. The task could wait until later. Then I set to work on writing the prologue and her backstory, and describing her. It was a long hard grueling process, but in the end, I finished. Then there was only one last thing to do. To write the trigger words and finally bring this girl to life. I took a deep breath, praying that this would work and that it all wouldn't be in vain when I felt a stirring beside me, making me jolt in surprise.

"Wha' 'tis it ye be doin', lass?" Nate asked groggily from beside me. He reached over and ran his calloused fingers through my hair before pressing a soft kiss to my cheek.

"Good Morning." I smiled at him before pressing my lips against his, "I'm about to bring Alice to life. All I have to write is two words." He sucked in a breath as I had before. I smiled softly. He was nervous too.

"Aye, then." he said at last, with a nod, "Bring 'er t' life."

I took a deep breath before writing the last two words.

Enter: Alice

Suddenly before our eyes the curtains swirled a bit and out of center stage and out walked a short girl, just as I had imagined her. She held her chin high in confidence, and her walk was paced with grace and dignity. She wore a black no-sleve shirt that curved downward to caress her breasts and was sewn to a piece that came up from the straps and made a collar in which a red tie was tied with out covering up the chest portion of the shirt. It came down to about two inches above her belly button, and was adorned with black lace. Her red and black plaid pleated skirt started from the middle of her belly button and buttoned there before flaring out to her mid-thigh with little white crosses at the end. The ends were adorned with black lace as well and was the underlining of the skirt; a black cloth band adorned her left thigh right below where the skirt ended. She had on knee high black boots, and a black arm warmer that ran from the middle of her upper arm to past her thumb and black and silver bracelets draped over it. On the other hand she wore a black glove with all of the fingers cut out and black nail polish adorned all of her fingers. She had cute elvish face with high cheek bones and large wide violet eyes rimmed with thick eyeliner. Her skin was almost completely white it was so pale; about as pale as Ariel's snowy white complection. She had her bangs pushed to the side, covering her left eye, and the back part of her bangs were pulled back by a skull barrette with a bow on it.

"She's beautiful," breathed Cobweb, smoothing his unruly black hair down. I looked at him and giggled as he looked quite taken with her. I expected next he would want me to write that she had a twin sister that was fairy-sized.

"Hello, Alice." I called from my seat in the auditorium. As soon as she spotted me, her eyes lit up and she walked up to us quickly, jumped into my lap and hugged me.

"Bertie." she pulled back and smiled at me.

"Ello there, lass," Nate smiled at her, "Welcom' t' th' Theatre Illuminata." She grinned and jumped on him too. I wasn't too excited about this beautiful teenager jumping onto my boyfriend's lap, but I kept my peace.

"Nate." she smiled again, sitting on both of our laps. He chuckled and patted her head. Peaseblossom was the next to come meet Alice.

"Why, Hello Alice! My name is-"

"Peaseblossom" her eyes lit up again, finishing Peaseblossom's sentence before holding out her hand for the young girl fairy to land on.

"You know my name!" Peaseblossom seemed to glow with happiness before she landed on Alice's hand and she patted her little head with the tip of her finger.

"Of course I do." Alice tilted her head at her and smiled. The rest of the gang followed suit and of course when Cobweb did he blushed a bright scarlet red that made Nate and I laugh.

"Guess ye bett'r be gettin' tha' book ther' back to th' Theat'r Manager afore he loses his head, don' tcha think, lass?" Nate nodded at the glowing book that I had completely forgotten about. I smiled sheepishly as I remembered the arguing that I and the Stage Manager did last night before even letting me into see the Theater Manager to propose the idea of me writing a play. Then I finally got The Book and I promised to have it back in a couple of hours, and that's when Nate and I, and the fairies had fallen asleep. I jumped up immediately, book in hand.

"Ill be right back." I told Nate, the fairies, and Alice as I began to make a mad dash for the office.

"Wait, Bertie!" Nate called out to me. I stopped and turned to look at him.

"What is it?" I asked him in confusion.

"Take Alice wi' ye. Introduce her t' th' Theat'r Manager." he grinned at Alice as if she were his own child. I suppose she was, in a special way. We had made her together. The thought made me blush beyond all comprehension.

"C'mon, Alice." I called to her and she nodded before jumping off Nate's lap and bounding happily behind me.

Scene 2:

Bertie's POV

Enter: Alice and Bertie

"So who is the Theater Manager?" Alice asked as we walked into the hallway where the offices were.

"It's _Theatre, _hunny. And he's the guy who runs this place." I told her as I cast a smile over my shoulder at her and we reached the Theatre Manager's office. I knocked on the door softly which was followed with a "Come in. The door's open."

"Stay here until I call you, okay?" I whispered to Alice. She answered with a silent nod and she pressed her fingers to her lips to signal that she'd be quiet. With that, I entered the office and shut the door behind me.

"Why, hello Bertie." he greeted me, his voice like icicles, "I do believe you said a couple of hours, not twelve. Am I right, Dear girl?" He adjusted the suit on his thin body. I winced slightly as I caught the underdisguised glare he held in his eyes.

"Um...yes, Sir..." I told him, trying to turn on a bit of the charm that I had recieved from years of living with actors, "But you see, it took a while for me and Nate-"

"Nate and I..." The Theatre Manager, Ever the english teacher, corrected me.

"Nate and I..." I aquiesced, "to sort out the plot and such." He nodded all tolerant-like at me.

"And what did you come up with, Beatrice?" he asked, pressing his hands together and twiddling his thumbs. I smiled as heavenly as I could manage.

"For you, Sir, today, I have the main character for my play, and I would be delighted if you would meet her." I announced, using my best announcer voice as I tried to keep him from asking me what the play's name was. He inclined his head foward and rubbed his beard.

"Very well, Beatrice...Bring her in." I walked to the back door of the room and opened it, preparing to have to coax Alice in, but to my surprise, she was waiting at the door. When I opened it, she walked into the room with out me saying a word. With a stunning grace and an air of a proffesional business woman, she strode straight up to the Theatre Manager and bowed in a man's fashion.

"Hello, Sir. My name is Alice. Pleased to meet you, Mr. Theatre Manager." She introduced herself as she rose up to stand her full height, and pushed her hand foward for him to shake. He grabbed it, albeit hesitantly.

"Nice to meet you too, Alice." he nodded, "What play will you be starring in?" I tensed in anticipation of what she was going to say seeing as I hadn't even given the play a title, much less a plot or a storyline.

"Honestly, I haven't the slightest idea." she told him and my heart dropped. I'd be hearing about this later, I was sure of that. "It's a working progress. But, do not worry, Sir. It will be the best performance the Theatre Illuminata ever had." She continued, "Far from the melancholy of Hamlet, or the trajedy of Romeo and Juliet. No sir, this one shall be far more comical, and appealing. There will be no weeping audience members and no death. In fact, I am to be thinking that I would like this to be a musical. What say ye, Bertie?" She turned to me and I found that my mouth was open. I hadn't been expecting_ that._ Her entire business persona was a surprise_, _but oh well. You know what they say. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I, the ever proper Beatrice Shakespeare smith, started by closing my mouth.

"Er...Yes! That sounds...pleasant. I'll get to work on that right away, Alice." I nodded dazedly before looking over to the Theatre Manager who I just noticed had his jaw dropped as well. Alice inclined her head and turned back to him, seemingly satisfied for the moment.

"Well then, on that note, I must be on my way, for there are some arrangements for the production I must see to." She shook the Theatre Manager's hand again before bowing once more and walking out the door; not bothering to wait for me. I turned to the manager, expecting him to be mad. Instead he just adjusted his monocle and grunted.

"Charming girl you've got there, Bertie. You should probably send her in here to conduct more of your business and avoid all of your management mishaps." he said, grabbing a pile of his paperwork.

"Uh...yes sir...I'll do that..." I inclined my head foward, still amazed at how she pulled that off. He looked up at me from his desk to my spot where I was frozen to the floor.

"If that will be all, Bertie, please be on your way." he told me pointedly.

"Oh...of course..." I aquiesced again as I made my way to the door.

"Shut it on your way out, too."

I found her in the hallway, waiting for me with a big smile plastered on her face. I wheeled her silently away from the door before I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"How did you do that?" I asked her, the smile on my face hurting my cheeks it was so wide.

"I dunno." she shrugged, "You made me...didn't you put that in the description?" She seemed genuinely confused as I shook my head.

"No...that wasn't in the description at all..." I told her, "But I'm glad that you got us out of that sticky sitiuation. You were awesome!" I grabbed her hands and jumped up and down.

"I'm glad that I could help." she tilted her head and smiled at me. I smiled back and then suddenly I heard a door open down the hall, and I was about to make a run for it, thinking the Theatre Manager had heard me when he grinned from his office door.

"Oh and Bertie, place an annoucement on the call board for all players to be to the stage at eight tonight so we can welcome our new Player properly." he told her before dissappearing back into his office. I sighed softly.

"Guess I'd better go do that..." I sighed as I began to walk towards the general hallway direction of the Call board when suddenly a little fairy crashed into me at full speed. I stumbled backwards momentarily before righting myself. Moth looked up at me in a dazed manner.

"What is it, Moth?" I asked him, as I plucked him off my breast.

"It's Mustardseed again..." he told us as he flailed his arms about, "He's stuck in the pudding again...Hurry before he gets eaten!" With a sigh I nodded.

"Be right there..." I inclined my head foward, "But first I have to go pin a notice to the call board."

"Later!" Moth yelled urgently.

"No, Moth. If I don't do it now, I'll forget..." I shook my head at him.

"If you don't rescue Mustardseed, he's going to become a turd! C'mon!" Moth tugged at my black and purple strands until I was about ready to swat him out of the sky.

"Well, I could do it..." Alice offered with a smile, "Just point me in the right direction." I nodded greatfully.

"Alright. If you want. It's a regular cork call board and it's in the Green Room. Go onto the stage and and go into the second door on your right. Paper and pens are in the drawers in the wooden chest o' drawers to the left of it." I hugged her and ran off to free Mustardseed from that dastardly pudding.

Scene 3:

Alice's POV

Enter: Alice

"Alright," I muttered to myself, "First I just have to retrace my steps to the stage..." I sighed inwardly as I began my journey. I remembered that we took a left to get to the offices, so I took that next right. The surroudings looked sort of familiar, so I kept going. Then I saw a hallway to the right that looked familiar, so I took that. The more I kept twisting down the hallways, the more lost I became. And suddenly, I began to panic, because this section of the hallway was really dim and the other side of it was dark. I made a mad dash for the lighted portion of the hallway and suddenly my body came to halt as I collided into what felt like a brick wall. The only way that I knew that it wasn't was that, when I ran into it, we both were sent sprawling backwards.

"Ungh..." I grunted. This was just perfect. I hadn't even been born for thirty minutes and I just nearly killed myself and someone else. A grunt came from the other person's direction as well and from the sounds of it, it was a male. I figured that an apology might be in order.

"Um...I'm so sorry Sir..." I told him as I tried to stand up and let my eyes adjust to the increasingly dim light.

"Please do watch where you are going, Mademoiselle." My eyes widened and body stiffened as he talked, "You could have gotten yourself injured." His voice was smooth and beautiful. Almost like if velvet were a voice, it would be his. He stood up, quite the graceful sillouhette, and tugged me gently to my feet as well.

"My apologies once again, Sir. You see, I'm new here, and very lost. My creator sent me on a quest to post a bulletin on a call board, and I ended up here." I told him, as he made sure I was steady before letting go.

"The Green Room is in the entirely opposite direction. I suppose you would need me to assist your journey there, so you do not plow into others as you did myself?" He asked, his silouhetted self tilting his head. Suddenly I realized how cold the draft in this hallway was, and how it blew his long hair around. I nodded slowly while rubbing my arms to rid them of the goosebumps formed by the drop in temperature.

"Please, If you wouldn't mind." With a nod he turned towards the light.

"Very well." he said, his voice surprising me once again with it's smoothness and gentle nature, "Follow me." It was quiet for a while, as he weaved us gracefully through the hallways that I had turned wrongly at. When we entered the more lighted areas, I noticed his long silver hair that was a little past his hips and seemed to have perpetual winds blowing it in many different directions and his very pale skin that was almost as white as my own. He wore a black silk shirt that was tucked in and black trousers that came up to his waist and ended with a black belt. He looked very dressy and aristocratic. An anxious part of me wanted to see what wonders lied upon his face.

"So...may I inquire as to why you were in such a dark space by yourself?" I asked, unable to stand the quiet that permitted my personal thoughts to run rampant as we made our way through the hallways.

"I suppose you may." he responded quietly, "But there is not much to inquire about. Places in which darkness reasonates seem to have more appeal to me than those full of light these days."

"You are depressed, then?" I asked him as I tried to keep pace with his long legs, and failed miserably. He chuckled softly, his voice melodious.

"More like _surpressed_, Madamoiselle." I detected much sadness and loneliness in his voice as he continued, "You will find this Theatre more like a prison than a paradise the longer you stay here."

"How so, Sir?" I asked him, my genuine curiosity taking over. He turned to face me and I sucked in a breath as my heart skipped a beat. He had very pale Elvish features, and dark eyes that seemed to have a million storms encased in them. He had thin white eyebrows, his lips were of medium thickness, and he was pursing them as he looked at me. His bangs were pushed to one side but continuously drifted to the other as the winds that seemed to reasonate from him pushed them around. Two butterflies, one red and one yellow, danced about in his silver hair and I exhaled softly. He was beautiful.

"Players can't leave the Theatre. We are trapped here, little one." he told me and I suddenly understood a bit of his melacholy.

"You do not want to be here, do you?" I asked as I tried to push back the heat that was trying to creep across my cheeks at his intense gaze.

"Not a person in their right mind would. Player though I may be, on the inside of this heart, I am but a human in the form of a trapped tempest. Somehow this wretched Theatre has managed to capture the wind as well..." his tone and gaze held a bit of surpressed anger and hurt. Suddenly I had a revelation.

"You're Ariel..." I pointed at him with a smile, "The storm spirit from the Shakespearean play, The Tempest." He inclined his head forward a little; the small quirk of his lips visable.

"Yes, I am." he tilted his head, "But I believe it is rude for one to know the other's name while the other does not know the one's name." After taking a minute to figure out what he just said, it hit me and I blushed; ashamed by the lack of brainpower that I was using at the moment.

"Oh! My name is Alice. Pleased to meet you, Ariel." I bowed, like I had with the Theatre Manager. When I stood up, Ariel looked like he wasn't very pleased with me at all.

"Um...did I...do something wrong?" I asked sheepishly at his intense scruitiny. He shook his head.

"Where I come from, the ladies do not bow. They courtesy like so." He demonstrated the courtesy for me and performed it with such grace that I was jealous, "There. Now you try."

"Alright." I said as I performed the courtesy just as he did, making sure to align my body in the exact fashion that he had his, "How was that?"

"Good, good." he nodded his approval, "Now let's begin again." He took his place about two feet from me and bowed to me as I had done to him before. "My name is Ariel, Milady. Might I inquire as to what your name might be?"

"It might be Alice, Good Sir." I courtesied trying to hide my smile, "Pleased to meet you." I nearly jumped in surprise when he grabbed my hand and brought it up to his mouth before brushing his lips across. my knuckles; his stormy eyes never leaving my own.

"Charmed, I'm sure." he breathed before releasing my hand to fall to my side. Unable to hide my grin any longer, I let it spread across my face.

"Better?" I asked him, noting how he seemed more satisfied then he had before.

"Much better, Milady." he inclined his head once more before turning back around, "Now to finish the job that I have started."

After a few more minutes of navigating the hallways, we came out onto the auditorium.

"The Green Room is right through that door over there," he pointed with his long graceful index finger. I inclined my head greatfully at him.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Ariel." I didn't know how to thank him so I just grabbed his hand with both of mine and gently squeezed it in grattitude with a smile before turning and making a run for the Green Room door. I didn't wait to see his reaction because I didn't want him to see mine. Heat creeped across my cheeks like I had never felt before and my embarassment over my reaction made the intensity greater.

_ 'No...' _I thought to myself,_ 'I can't fall for anybody. I belong to Bertie and Nate and possibly the fairies, so I cannot get distracted...' _ The thought saddened me a little. It meant that I would have to stay away from Ariel. My resolve regained_, _I walked more fully into the room. I spotted the chest o' drawers just where Bertie had told me, and I pulled out a pin and a piece of gold-embedded stationary. On the stationary, I wrote:

All players to the stage:

8:00 pm

After looking at the note once more, and finding it fit to be placed upon the board, I fished out a silver thumbtack and posted in in the middle of the board. _'Maybe the players will see it...' _I thought with a grin as I put the pen back where I had found it and bounded back to the door. Half-expecting to see Ariel when I opened the door, I was surprised to find little Cobweb looking at me with a huge grin on his little pixie face.

"Hello, Cobweb." I smiled back at him as he scratched the back of his little head.

"Hey Alice. Bertie wanted me to tell you where she and Nate was. They've rescued Mustardseed from the pudding and are in Ms. Edith's office. They wanted you to get something to eat before you head down there though." He came to a rest on my shoulder and inclined his head towards the food on the table that I had just noticed.

"Can I eat anything I like?" I asked him as I looked the huge spread of food over.

"Pretty much!" he squrimed like he was excited, "Ooh! Pie!" He took a tumbling leap off of my shoulder and landed face first into a half-eaten pie. I laughed when he came up, smothered in the contents of it. He looked at me sheepishly, his face red.

"I-I mean...Pie...That's nice..." he offered and I laughed harder while putting my hands on my hips.

"Is this how Mustardseed got stuck in the pudding?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Yeah pretty much." he began stuffing his face with pie again, and I walked toward the tables. _'Where to start. Where to start.' _I thought inwardly as I rubbed my hands together and began deciding on what sweet meal I would be eating.

**Author's note:**

** Hey again! I hoped you liked Act 2 and don't just absolutely hate Alice. And when my friend was reading this she said that it sounded like Ariel was flirting with Alice, but just so everyone knows, he wasn't. He was just being a gentleman. (One of my most favorite things about him3) **

**But anyways, please review. I really enjoy it when I get a review. It makes my insides happy! Lolz^^ Until next time!**

**-Crimson**


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